TRIPPING, 11min., USA
Directed by Amelia Xanthe Boscov
A flirty-butch, lesbian mom (Dot-Marie Jones - GLEE, BROS), goes on a road trip with her pregnant high schooler daughter in order to get an abortion at the nearest women’s health clinic.

http://trippingfilm.com/
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Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
The main motivation was the idea that every film about abortion does not have to be a tragedy. I thought, what if traveling due to the lack of women's health clinics wasn't a low point in the character's life, but instead a comedic road trip? Somehow, everyday abortions are made more and more relevant by our governments trying to end access to them.
I'm tired of abortion being a dirty word. While starting to make Tripping, I keep repeating that "it's important to show the things and say the things." This film won't shy away from showing a fetus, from saying the word abortion, from showing queer relationships -- the things your high school health class should have done. That being said, the abortion is just one thing that happens in Tripping. The abortion is the launchpad for an exploration of family and personal growth.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
I started writing the script in early 2019. It was originally meant to be my thesis film for college. We were slated to film in spring 2020 and of course, that did not happen. We had everything ready to go and had to put filming on hold. I continued working on the script through 2022 and we eventually filmed the short in summer 2022. We filmed for 4 days and then post-production was wrapped by late October 2022. So, it kind of took three years to make this film!

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Abortion Roadtrip

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
(See above in "how long it took to make this film" hahaha), but the other biggest obstacle was the fact we also ended up filming the project during a large COVID surge. My Director of photography got COVID the week of filming, and then my replacement DP got COVID two days before filming. I'll never forget sitting there with all the equipment wondering how the heck this film was going to happen. Luckily, I had gathered an amazing crew/support team and we were able to find a DP the day before filming. The first time I met him was on location hours before filming. We stayed up every night after shoot days and worked through the shot list. We took it one day at a time. Winning Best Cinematography feels like an extra amazing achievement under the circumstances. Thank you, Hal!

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
It's always nerve-wracking to share your work with an audience. You never know who your work will speak to. It was amazing to hear what the LGBT Toronto audience thought of the film. I feel like they understood what I was trying to do with the project and there's no better feeling than that.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
I was always making my friends put on shows for our classes. I would direct them in scripts I would find in our elementary school library. That later evolved into making them act in videos and short films. It's hard to pinpoint a moment when I knew but I've always loved storytelling and working with others. I also attribute it to being an old child who consumed as many TV shows and movies as possible. Just felt natural to continue down that path.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Back to the Future! It's so fun and well thought out.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
Tough question! I think the main perks of being in a festival are getting people to watch your films, and making connections with other filmmakers. I think a lot of film festivals don't consider marketing/advertising as much as they could. A lot of that work tends to fall on filmmakers which can be hard if you're not from the area the festival is in.
Can you somehow make small talk less awkward? That'd be great.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
It's been good! It's very convenient and easy to submit and keep track of submissions. There are so many cool festivals out there so it makes it hard to not just keep submitting to all of them!

10. What is your favorite meal?
Pasta/noodles in pretty much any form.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I wrote the feature version of this short! Which is a dream to make. I'm also writing another feature film about a conflict between a lesbian baseball coach and a trans athlete. Similar serious topic/comedic film vibe.